ICI withholds comment on Co’s claim Marcos alleged budget insertions

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) is currently withholding the statement of former Rep. Zaldy Co regarding a recently released video that accuses President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez of directing a ₱100-billion budget insertion during the 2025 bicameral conference. ICI Executive Director Brian Keith Hosaka told reporters on Friday, Nov. 14, that the commission is ‘carefully reviewing and studying’ Co’s statements from the newly released video, along with multiple allegations raised during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing earlier in the day, before deciding on any action. In the first two segments of the five-minute video, Co alleges that during his tenure as House appropriations chairperson, he inserted P100 billion worth of projects under the instructions of President Marcos and Romualdez. The embattled former lawmaker further alleged that the administration had “exhausted all resources” to silence him and use him as a ‘scapegoat’ in its anti-corruption campaign. Co, who has been abroad since July 19 reportedly for medical reasons, also claimed he had planned to return to the Philippines after President Marcos’ July 28 State of the Nation Address but was advised by Romualdez to remain overseas: “Stay out of the country; you will be looked after as the president instructed.” He claimed he interpreted the assurance that he would be “taken care of” as a signal that he was expected to serve as the fall guy for the flood control corruption scandal, which sparked nationwide protests and demands for accountability. Co is expected to face formal charges after the ICI recommended that the Office of the Ombudsman investigate his possible violations related to a P289-million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, which was found to be substandard. The project was implemented through a firm linked to Co, the contractor Sunwest Inc. Co served as chair of the House Appropriations Committee from July 2022 to January 2025, a position that gave him significant influence over at least three national budgets from 2023-2025, including allocations for various infrastructure projects.